B.C Wildfire Services Incident Commander Glen Burgess answered questions and spoke to press in Penticton this afternoon.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

PENTICTON - It’s been a frustrating week for stakeholders and residents affected by the sudden onset of the fire season in the Okanagan, but things are about to change.

B.C. Wildfire Incident Commander Glen Burgess spoke to the media today, July 20, answering questions about the response and communications of B.C. Wildfire following an outbreak of 14 wildfires in the Okanagan between Penticton and Kelowna on Tuesday evening.

Burgess, who assumed command only this morning, said B.C. Wildfire sent all available resources to respond along with local governments and fire departments the night a major lightning storm rolled through the area igniting dozens of fires.

“The single biggest thing we’re working on is enhancing communications, making sure all our partners and stakeholders are getting all the information they need,” he said, adding B.C. Wildfire wanted to make sure accurate and timely information is getting out “the best we can.”

He said communications this week were being performed as best they could with limited resources, adding emerging incidents like Tuesday’s outbreak involved limited staff and a need to prioritize staff resources.

“Local staff energies were on response (to the incidents) which can create an information void,” he said.

“We committed all available resources at the time. We do the best we can, sometimes it’s not enough, but that’s the reality,” he said, adding the service would continue to do so.

Burgess said 200 ground personnel, 20 helicopters and air tankers, when available, were actively fighting the valley’s fires.

He said the biggest difficulty was timing of the resources, saying more equipment will arrive as it becomes available.

He also responded to criticism, particularly for a slow response to attacking the Good Creek Fire in Okanagan Mountain Park. 

“The Good Creek Fire is a little tricky - people are living in the past on that fire. The fuel type is completely different than in the past, there is no longer standing timber and the fuel type has changed,” he said, adding there were no high risk priorities in the area at the time.

Burgess said winds have been a big challenge on the Mount Eneas fire, with erratic wind shifts and nighttime downslope winds. He said he couldn’t say what conditions resulted in evacuation orders being issued suddenly late Wednesday evening without initially issuing alerts.

So far, no structures have been affected by the fires, although the Mount Eneas fire has crossed Highway 97 in several places. Crews have been making headway “in areas where the terrain allows us to,” he said.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in the last couple of days, but there’s lots of fire. We’re getting organized, structured, and getting resources the best we can,” Burgess said, adding, "the biggest fear right now is a sudden, unforeseen weather event."

“Right now, we’re fairly comfortable,” he said.

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